My reasoning below doesn't hold water -- I really don't see that it
follows that you can't have a gradual process just because that would
have people at different stages of development. However, I still believe
there was a discrete "step to man", because that seems to me to be the
most reasonable way to read Genesis 1 and 2. In addition, if you have
man developing spiritually over many generations, a reasonable question
to ask is at what point in the process does man become accountable to
God?

Let me just take a wild stab at it; at the introduction of Adam, roughly
7,000 years ago?

My reasoning below doesn't hold water -- I really don't see that it
follows that you can't have a gradual process just because that would
have people at different stages of development. However, I still believe
there was a discrete "step to man", because that seems to me to be the
most reasonable way to read Genesis 1 and 2. In addition, if you have
man developing spiritually over many generations, a reasonable question
to ask is at what point in the process does man become accountable to
God?

Bill Hamilton
William E. Hamilton, Jr., Ph.D.
248.652.4148 (home) 248.821.8156 (mobile)
"...If God is for us, who is against us?" Rom 8:31
"A theory that you can&#39;t explain to a bartender is probably no damn
good"
--Ernest Rutherford

Bill Hamilton commented: "While I agree that development of spiritual
awareness could have been a process, IMO there has to be a definite,
discrete step at which God turned human into man. Otherwise there could
be all different degrees of "soulness" existing at the same time."

Usually I agree with Bill but not this time. At least I cannot rule out
the process approach on the basis of Bill's argument.

I see no problem (theologically) with the process approach where the
afterlife is granted to all who came before Adam -- just as it MUST be
granted to at least certain animals.

As I noted earlier, the presumption that "soul" refers to something real
may be at the root of our difficulties on this subject.

Consider an analogy with the human reproductive process. Some hold that
a "soul" is infused by God at the "moment" of conception. Assuming this
to be true, and assuming "innocents" are granted heaven, it follows that
heaven is 50% populated by persons who died in the first two weeks after
conception. Possible, of course, but it does seem strange. Again, the
"soul" concept seems to play a sticky part.

Note that I do not argue any other position other than one of seriously
considering all options.

Burgy

www.burgy.50megs.com/crisis.htm (Why $4.00 gas and rationing is on the
horizon)